Publications by authors named "Amalraj Ramesh Sundar"

Life cycle of the dimorphic sugarcane smut fungi, Sporisorium scitamineum, involves recognition and mating of compatible saprophytic yeast-like haploid sporidia (MAT-1 and MAT-2) that upon fusion, develop into infective dikaryotic mycelia. Although the dimorphic transition is intrinsically linked with the pathogenicity and virulence of S. scitamineum, it has never been studied using a proteomic approach.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Sugarcane smut caused by the basidiomycetous fungus is one of the most devastating diseases that affect sugarcane production, globally. At present, the most practical and effective management strategy for the disease is the cultivation of resistant cultivars. In this connection, a detailed understanding of the host's defense mechanism in response to smut isolates with varying degrees of virulence at the molecular level would facilitate the development of reliable and durable smut-resistant sugarcane varieties.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Red rot of sugarcane caused by the hemi-biotrophic fungal pathogen, Colletotrichum falcatum, is a major threat to sugarcane cultivation in many tropical countries such as India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. With the accumulating information on pathogenicity determinants, namely, effectors and pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) of C. falcatum, it is of paramount importance to decipher the functional role of these molecular players that may ultimately decide upon the outcome of sugarcane-C.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the life cycle and pathogenicity of Sporisorium scitamineum, the fungus responsible for smut disease in sugarcane, by using genetically modified strains that express green fluorescent protein (GFP) for better visualization.
  • Researchers isolated haploid sporidia from teliospores and confirmed opposite mating types, then successfully transformed these sporidia to track their development and colonization in sugarcane plants through microscopy.
  • The findings reveal significant fungal colonization during the disease's initial stages, leading to the characteristic formation of smut whips, thereby enhancing understanding of S. scitamineum's lifecycle and its impact on sugarcane.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Unlabelled: is a teleomorphic, biotrophic fungus causing the globally prevalent sugarcane smut disease in sugarcane. The severity of the disease depends on two major factors, viz. degree of resistance in the host genotype and virulence level of the pathogen.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Red rot caused by Colletotrichum falcatum is a significant threat to sugarcane in tropical and sub-tropical regions, making the understanding of defense mechanisms vital for crop management.
  • This study investigated the expression of genes related to major defense-signaling pathways during both resistant and susceptible interactions using qRT-PCR, focusing on the hypersensitive response, salicylic acid, and jasmonic acid/ethylene pathways.
  • Findings revealed that the nonexpressor of pathogenesis-related genes 1 (NPR1) and salicylic acid pathway genes were notably upregulated in resistant cultivars during incompatible interactions and in response to defense inducers, demonstrating the effectiveness of these pathways in enhancing resistance against red rot.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Colletotrichum falcatum, a hemibiotrophic fungal pathogen, causes one of the major devastating diseases of sugarcane-red rot. C. falcatum secretes a plethora of molecular signatures that might play a crucial role during its interaction with sugarcane.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Unlabelled: Colletotrichum falcatum, an intriguing hemibiotrophic fungal pathogen causes red rot, a devastating disease of sugarcane. Repeated in vitro subculturing of C. falcatum under dark condition alters morphology and reduces virulence of the culture.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Sporisorium scitamineum, the sugarcane smut pathogen, relies predominantly on its secretome to successfully colonise its host, in accordance with other related smut fungi. Considering the significance of deciphering its secretome, we have examined alterations in the in vitro secretome of S. scitamineum in response to synthetic and sugarcane meristem tissue-amended growth media, so as to identify host signal responsive secretory proteins.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Colletotrichum falcatum, a concealed fungal ascomycete causes red rot, which is a serious disease in sugarcane. It infects economically important stalk tissues, considered as store house of sugar in sugarcane. The study is to find genetic complexities of C.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Sugarcane is one of the most important commercial crops cultivated worldwide for the production of crystal sugar, ethanol, and other related by-products. Unlike other comparable monocots like sorghum, maize, and rice, sugarcane genome by virtue of its polyploidy nature remains yet to be fully deciphered. Proteomics-an established complementary tool to genomics is at its infancy in sugarcane as compared to the other monocots.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Red rot disease of sugarcane caused by Colletotrichum falcatum is one of the serious constraints affecting the productivity of the crop. The strategy of employing systemic acquired resistance (SAR) against red rot yielded consistently good results at field level. However, elucidation of genes involved in the induction of SAR continues to be a challenging area of research for a critical understanding of red rot disease resistance in sugarcane.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Plant proteomics has made tremendous contributions in understanding the complex processes of plant biology. Here, its current status in India and Nepal is discussed. Gel-based proteomics is predominantly utilized on crops and non-crops to analyze majorly abiotic (49 %) and biotic (18 %) stress, development (11 %) and post-translational modifications (7 %).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Sugarcane is an important commercial crop cultivated for its stalks and sugar is a prized commodity essential in human nutrition. Proteomics of sugarcane is in its infancy, especially when dealing with the stalk tissues, where there is no study to date. A systematic proteome analysis of stalk tissue yet remains to be investigated in sugarcane, wherein the stalk tissue is well known for its rigidity, fibrous nature, and the presence of oxidative enzymes, phenolic compounds and extreme levels of carbohydrates, thus making the protein extraction complicated.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF